JOHOR BARU – Malaysians should be proud that Bahasa Malaysia is not only still being used internationally, but is ranked the 10th most popular language in the world, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said currently there are more than 6,000 languages still in use, but only 20 languages, including Bahasa Malaysia, have been categorised and recognised as official languages.
“As Keluarga Malaysia, whom this mother tongue belongs to, we should feel proud that despite the strong dominance of the English language, Bahasa Malaysia remains powerful with its own unique rhythm, which has remained evergreen in the world’s civilisation.
“This has not been so for other major languages in the world, as some languages have become increasingly sparse due to globalisation, while others are facing the threat of extinction,” he said when officiating the 2021 Prime Minister’s Cup international Bahasa Melayu Public Speaking (PABM) competition at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia here last night.
Ismail Sabri said Malaysia should be thankful that Bahasa Malaysia did not suffer a similar fate – the result of the united effort in support of the language within the region by Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei Darussalam.
“Therefore, it is not impossible that the number of Bahasa Malaysia speakers in the world, which now exceeds 300 million people, will grow even further, and thus revive the glory days of Bahasa Malaysia as a ’lingua franca’,” he said.
The prime minister, meanwhile, rebuked the current trend that is seeing programmes conducted by the private sector and even some government-linked companies (GLCs) and government agencies that do not use Bahasa Malaysia.
“Government agency and GLC meetings also use English. In fact, the use of non-Bahasa Malaysia names for companies, housing projects and product brands has become commonplace.
“I hope every conference, meeting and other events uses Bahasa Malaysia from now on. Who else can uphold Bahasa Malaysia if not us?” he said.
He added that the government wants to repeat the glorious history of Bahasa Malaysia by making it the language of knowledge and the international language of the 21st century.
“The government is committed to ensuring that the policies formulated, support the efforts to uphold Bahasa Malaysia.
“For that, the government strongly encourages the implementation of language and literature programmes and activities that can further inspire the spirit of love for Bahasa Malaysia,” said Ismail Sabri.
PABM 2021 involved 78 participants from 36 countries, including Bangladesh, Japan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Brunei, Mali and Pakistan. – Bernama, November 28, 2021
